2018 GN Super Stock Diesel Champions Spotlight

Stan & Steve BlagraveAckerly, Texas"Red Horse"Super Stock Diesel

The Blagrave Brothers won their third GN title by leading from wire to wire. Having previously won championships in 2002 and 2013, Steve commented, “They’re all special; definitely not easy.” Stan added, “It takes a lot of support back home. Being far from home is a challenge. We’ve worked in everyone’s shop from home to Ohio!”“Red Horse” started strong with a win and a runner-up finish at the GALOT Mule City 300 in Benson, North Carolina. Steve won on Friday at the Power Pull Nationals in Hutchinson, Minnesota and took second there on Saturday.

Stan was in the seat and swept both hooks in Tomah, Wisconsin. Stan said that this was a highlight as “the tractor won in Diesel Super and [Steve’s son] Trevor won in Two Wheel Drive at almost the same time” in Saturday night’s finale.

Steve finished sixth in the first session at Rockwell’s North Iowa Nationals and won the second hook there. He claimed another victory two weeks later on Friday at the Lions Super Pull of the South in Chapel Hill, Tennessee and got second on Saturday.

Stan got fifth in both sessions in Brandenburg, Kentucky. Steve then finished runner-up in both hooks in Langford, New York. With uncharacteristic troubles, they finished eighth at Napoleon, Ohio’s Henry County Fair Pull. Steve said the biggest challenge of the season was “the five-week stretch from Chapel Hill to Bowling Green. We had problems in Chapel Hill, went to Larry Phillips’ shop in Brandenburg, and had problems in Napoleon, too. It was the hardest five weeks we’ve ever had.”

Stan finished sixth in the first hook in Bowling Green, Ohio and won the second to take a 13-point lead into the final two hooks. Steve got third in the afternoon session at the DeKalb County Fair Grand Nationals in Sandwich, Illinois and clinched the title with a second in the evening session. The family capped it with two spectacular, victorious runs at the Enderle Pull-Off: Stan with “Red Horse” and his nephew Sean with “Wild Horse.”

Stan and Steve acknowledge Hypermax Engineering, Engler Machine and Tool, Lemke Machine, Max Simpson at Simpson Performance, and Columbus Diesel, as well as Hill’s Hot Rod in Lubbock, Texas for painting the tractor, Rusty Wells for helping with the tractor at home, Larry and Brandon Phillips, and Mason City Power & Equipment in Rockwell. They further thank Craig and Ashley Corzine, Mike and Sally Beck, and the Lock-N-Load Team. They also want to thank their dad and mom, Derwood and Joan. Steve would like to thank his wife Tracie, son Sean and his wife Megan, and son Trevor. Stan would like to thank his wife Carla and their kids Shelli, Krista, and Brittni and their families.